[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW tops Lexus and Mercedes for luxury sales crown in U.S.

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Via Automotive News:

BMW held on in December to top the U.S. luxury segment in 2015 for its fourth luxury-sales crown in five years. But Lexus rode a strong December to pass Mercedes-Benz for second place.

The race was tight until the end. BMW finished 2015 with luxury sales of 346,023 vehicles, followed by Lexus with 344,601 and Mercedes with 343,088. All three brands set annual sales records last year.

Though BMW retained the sales title, its results tumbled sharply in December, sliding 17 percent from a year earlier to 34,625. For the year, the brand’s sales rose 1.8 percent.

“The new sales record in 2015 is the third record year in a row for BMW with the numbers further emphasizing the growth of luxury trucks, which are now one-third of BMW sales in the U.S.,” Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America, said in a press release.

Best Lexus month

Lexus chief Jeff Bracken said December marked the all-time best month for the brand. Lexus widely outpaced its rivals in December with a 3.8 percent sales gain to 41,380. The brand’s 2015 sales rose 11 percent. Bracken, Lexus general manager, described 2015 as producing sales “we couldn’t have predicted.”

In a press release, he added, “Lexus’ SUV sales momentum and the strength of our product lineup has us well positioned for 2016.”

For Mercedes, it was a sluggish end to the year, despite record annual sales. The brand’s luxury sales were nearly flat in December, edging up 0.6 percent to 34,203. That followed a 13 percent decline in November. The Mercedes luxury numbers exclude sales of the Sprinter commercial van.

‘Great year’

In a statement, Dietmar Exler, new CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, called it a “great year” with strong momentum from the recent launches of the brand’s GLE and GLC crossovers.

Exler, former U.S. head of sales for the brand, took over the top spot at Mercedes-Benz USA on Jan. 1 following the December departure of former CEO Steve Cannon.

Before his departure, Cannon said that the brand’s November slide was explained by a shortage of inventory in the hot compact crossover segment after the redesigned and renamed GLC went on sale later than expected. Cannon left Mercedes to head the company that owns the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.

Segment strength

With the exception of Jaguar, all luxury brands experienced gains in 2015. The luxury segment as a whole grew substantially, with U.S. sales rising 7.7 percent in 2015 to top 2 million vehicles for the first time, at 2.03 million.

Total U.S. light-vehicle sales rose 5.7 percent.

While Jaguar sales slid 8.3 percent in 2015, its stablemate, Land Rover, had sales surge 37 percent, leaving combined Jaguar Land Rover sales up 26 percent at 85,048.

December began with BMW leading the luxury segment with 11-month sales of 311,398, followed by Mercedes-Benz with 308,885 and Lexus with 303,221. Lexus almost caught up to BMW during the month, coming close to regaining the luxury title it had held for 11 straight years, until the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami disrupted its sales.

BMW previously won the U.S. luxury-sales crown in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Mercedes-Benz took it in 2013.

Cadillac, Infiniti gains

In December, Cadillac sales rose 29 percent, to 20,787, propelled by a 44 percent increase for the SRX midsize crossover, the brand’s top seller. Cadillac is in sell-down mode on the outgoing SRX to make way for its successor, the XT5, a new vehicle that will roll out this spring.

The sales surge pushed Cadillac to a 2.6 percent increase for 2015, to 175,267, surpassing brand chief Johan de Nysschen’s goal of maintaining flat sales as he orchestrates the early phases of a turnaround plan.

Infiniti has lagged in the luxury trend, due mostly to a lack of exciting products. The brand is finally joining the party. Infiniti sales jumped 26 percent in December and 14 percent for the year.

[GOLFFRR]

[Lucky13]

I find it amazing that Cadillac's sales goal was to have a flat year, that would get you fired in any job in any industry if you submitted a flat business plan. Only at Cadillac in your home market would you get an attaboy.

[mkoesel]

Another great year for BMW. Nice!

Originally Posted by Lucky13

I find it amazing that Cadillac's sales goal was to have a flat year, that would get you fired in any job in any industry if you submitted a flat business plan. Only at Cadillac in your home market would you get an attaboy.

Well if the brand was trending toward a huge loss, and you step in to offer a plan and keep that from happening, that's a win in anyone's book. He'll either turn the company around and boost sales in the coming year (perhaps they give him two more to completely right the ship), or he'll be tossed out the door. I would not personally bet on things going well, but we'll see.

[M3ZING]

Wheres audi and porsche tho?

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

I find it amazing that Cadillac's sales goal was to have a flat year, that would get you fired in any job in any industry if you submitted a flat business plan. Only at Cadillac in your home market would you get an attaboy.

I don't know of any industry where you can turnaround a company in a short time. The first step is to stop the hemorrhaging and that's what Cadillac did. It's what happens in 2016 that will determine the future.

[elitex]

I bought 1 of each in 2015.

[Kwando]

Looks like Audi wasn't invited to the party. No one wanted to bother with their snooze fest of a line up.

Big congratulations to BMW and Lexus.

[aceking4u]

Congrats to BMW. Most people I know first think of a BMW immediately when considering a luxury car. I do see more BMWs on the road more than any other luxury car on the road.

[MSteve5036]

Maybe Mercedes running the same Christmas ad for the last 5 years hurt their December sales

[aceking4u]

Originally Posted by MSteve5036

Maybe Mercedes running the same Christmas ad for the last 5 years hurt their December sales

Everyone loves Santa!

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by MSteve5036

Maybe Mercedes running the same Christmas ad for the last 5 years hurt their December sales

HO HO HO..

[EfEightyM3]

Originally Posted by M3ZING

Wheres audi and porsche tho?

Porsche sold about 51,000 cars in the US. Mind you they make far more in profit per car (about 12X more) than what bmw, Merc or Audi make.

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by EfEightyM3

Porsche sold about 51,000 cars in the US. Mind you they make far more in profit per car (about 12X more) than what bmw, Merc or Audi make.

Of course...when you can charge $200+ to either have the Porsche crest on the wheels black or coloured!

[David70]

Originally Posted by Lucky13

I find it amazing that Cadillac's sales goal was to have a flat year, that would get you fired in any job in any industry if you submitted a flat business plan. Only at Cadillac in your home market would you get an attaboy.

I think his goal was to reduce the heavy discounts and get the transaction prices up. If successful and they ended up making more profit per car then maybe a good year even with sales being flat. I think many industries would look at flat sales volumes but increased profit as being a reasonable goal.

It's one of the issues with only reporting sales volumes. To me overall profit would be much more important than how many cars were sold. Fleet sales (government, rental fleets, etc.) can also make volumes look good while profit per car is poor.

[Sedoy]

Actually BAD news, this means that their business plan works and they will continue to make more and more new models including FWD and 7-series with fake leather and optional AC unit... While I can get Kia Soul or Forte with real leather and heated/ventilated seats.

[Chihuahua]

"Luxury trucks" - LOL

BMW. The Ultimate Selling Machine.

[auf Deutsch]

Originally Posted by MSteve5036

Maybe Mercedes running the same Christmas ad for the last 5 years hurt their December sales

The only change being that now, Rudolph is a GT-S, previously an SLS.

[efrazer]

Yes they sold a lot of cars. Just wait until the 2017 models hit. They are dropping brakes pads/rotors and wipers from the maintenance plan. Oh yeah it's also going from 4/50 to 3/36.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by efrazer

Yes they sold a lot of cars. Just wait until the 2017 models hit. They are dropping brakes pads/rotors and wipers from the maintenance plan. Oh yeah it's also going from 4/50 to 3/36.

Is this fact or speculation?
Thanks-mk

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Is this fact or speculation?
Thanks-mk

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1212423

[The__J__Factor]

BMW got smashed in Oz this year.
Mercedes-Benz (36,374 sales, up 14 per cent), BMW (25,022 sales, up 10.1 per cent) and Audi (23,088 sales, up 20.1 per cent). Porsche (4090, up 45.4 per cent).

Something like 15% of merc sales were AMG models.